Giannist Hierarchy
The Giannist Hierarchy was a small empire on the fringes of human space, with its capital on Rho Aquilae, in the Region Pel's Aurora. It was governed by a small body of high-ranking military officers: colonels from the army, and so-called 'wing captains' of starships in the Astrofleet. As the military expands, so does the government. The leader's position, formerly known as Colonial Deputy, was called the Archon, leading to some to term the Giannist Hierarchy as a Stellar Archonate. To refer to the Giannist Hierarchy in passing, one may use the terms the Hierarchy or the Archonate interchangeably. Rho Aquilae was compelled to seek revenge against the Uhara, which began the trend of its crusades for vengeance. Although Rho Aquilaens were often stereotyped as aggressive and vindictive, it is true that they have only ever been attacked first. History The Giannist Hierarchy was born in Year 197 following the completion of a grand temple complex, capitol building, and fortress, known as the Giannion. It was in the central altar where, in the presence of Gianni and all senior officers of the military, the first Archon and the first Supreme Commander swore in the first Executor and Praetor and had them swear an oath upon Gianni's coffin. While this was the symbolic birth of the Hierarchy and the beginning of the nation's current system of government, the history of the people who would go on to form the new nation have a longer history. That history is of the colony of Rho Aquilae. Crucial also to understanding the history of either is to become familiar with Gianni Athanasios - the namesake of the Giannion and the Hierarchy itself. Planetfall It was in the last month of 196 that human settlement began throughout Pel's Aurora. It was in this first wave of migration and colonization that the desolate world of Rho Aquilae (the United Armada's navigational designation to the formerly uninhabited world) was settled. The situation was tenuous. Food and water were in precarious supply and had to be imported from the colony's sponsor and other trade partners. However, the colony benefited from its relatively large population of 400,000. Extensive mining operations were carried out, and the colony's sole starship undertook missions of exploration and resource exploitation, namely the construction of an Icarus-pattern mining platform in the clouds of the system's gas giant. It was one of these interstellar missions that put Rho Aquilae's name on the map. When International Transplants (or InTran) reported that one of its exploration galleons had lost contact, and was last seen in the nearby star system of Iota Ermina, the Colonial Deputy Gareth Kedvés decided to volunteer to help look for it, with some help from the colony's sponsors. The starship sent was the renowned WRA Absolution - though this was before it attained its renown. More importantly however, Gianni Athanasios, a veteran of the Polaris War and military adviser to the young colony, was dispatched to lead the mission. As every schoolboy and girl on Rho Aquilae knows, the expedition was ambushed by vicious aliens - the Uhara - who had established a colony in the system in the past. Gianni was killed and the humans were forced to withdraw. While this event would barely register as a blip on the RADAR for any civilized power, for the backwards human colony, it shook the earth. Gianni, the father of Rho Aquilae's army and a figurehead of colonial leadership just as if not more important than the Archon himself, was dead. The sudden and unexpected death of the colony's national hero at first brought tremendous melancholy, but this sadness very soon faded into insatiable anger. This anger lead to the replacement of Gianni with Dardan Baris. Dardan was perhaps less capable than Gianni had been. He was a local who had risen through the ranks, unlike Gianni who had reputable field experience. But he would get the job done. Iota Ermina Campaign While Rho Aquilae swore to punish the Uhara, it was unable to do so alone. Knowing this, the colony reached out to the rest of the region in search of allies. It found some in the form of Melina Luther, who had recently defeated Rho Aquilaen arms in the Battle of Rho Aquilae, a small skirmish that erupted when the warlord raided Lukkastor's mass conveyor and Deputy Gareth refused to allow this transgression in his territory. Despite having many more ships, the warlord was able to outmaneuver Rho Aquilae's flotilla, and they eventually decided to surrender. Melina gave medical aid to Rho Aquilae's crewmen and returned them before withdrawing with the mass conveyor's cargo. Soon after the warlord revealed her identity to the Archon, and the Rho Aquilaens, humbled, praised the warlord for her honor, strength, and skill. This was the beginning of a friendship Melina agreed to participate in the campaign against the Uhara, and would lead the small alliance's forces in space. Venusian mercenaries were hired, and a sizeable army would be sent from Telotele. In addition, the intrepid Polaris veteran and independent captain Meri Gaiko joined the effort - always willing to exterminate some aliens. She would contribute her powerful wargalleon and a good deal of drones. With everything in place, the Rho Aquilaens returned to Iota Ermina, this time in force. The ensuing space battle was largely won by the brilliance of Melina Luther, while Dardan was commander of the Eagle Guard, the mercenaries (in theory) and the expeditionary force from Lukkastor, totaling some 70,000 soldiers. While this was a small force to invade a large colony with, the humans were counting on local allies to join them - indeed, if there was zero local support, the campaign would have failed before it ever began. The ground war of Iota Ermina lasted more than three months. The first weeks were the most intense, with pitched battles around the landing zones as the major nations of the Uhara colony tried to repel the humans' landing. The humans held firm, in no small part thanks to having air supremacy, control of the planet's orbital influence, and reinforcements from local allies. The humans then pressed on towards Bamako, the capital of the largest power. The rest of the campaign largely came down to sieges. Thanks to having support from orbit, the humans were able to prevail in most of these sieges. When successful, human forces were very violent towards the Uhara population, killing and slaughtering indiscriminately. Culture The Rho Aquilaens and early Giannists were generally a trusting and prideful people. They were always eager to show their pride and strength, building elaborate complexes and flaunting their wealth and success. The Rho Aquilaens' relaxed and generally friendly (if obviously self-serving) demeanor meant their people had good relations with most of the human worlds of the region. At any given time, the Giannists would always have more friends than enemies. However, while the colonists themselves were trusting and often merciful in war, Rho Aquilae's enemies were always paranoid of the Giannists' redemption. The reputation of the Giannists twisted as the Hierarchy matured. Their pride began to be seen as arrogance, and their trusting nature as childish naivete. While the Giannists retained many of their friends, this perception of their arrogance lead to constant disputes with the Hierarchy's closest network of allies - The Free Systems. This alliance, having exhausted its usefulness for the Rho Aquilaens following the defeat of Innovaganix, soon saw itself losing its most powerful member. Also, although the Giannists never mistreated (human) prisoners of war or non-combatants, it is well-documented among the Giannists' enemies that soldiers and officers feared how they would be treated once placed at their mercy. The most well-known example of this is the Triterran soldiers during the Battle of Meio, many of whom refused to surrender to the Giannists and instead preferred to do so with the Olympian forces or the Browncoats. Some others, however, had no choice, and reported their surprise when the Giannists treated them as well as they could have asked for. Much of this has to do with the Giannists' militaristic culture. But militarism should not be mistaken for aggression and barbarism. All of the Archonate's major wars were defensive ones. The Iota Ermina Campaign was in retaliation to Uhara attacks. Giannist involvement in the war to contain Innovaganix was in direct response to Deon Banner's attempts to exterminate the population of the region (or use the threat of doing so to place the region under his subjugation). Giannist contributions to the War on Triterra were entirely because of the Archon's desire to aid the Hierarchy's allies who had been attacked. At no point did the Giannists invade a human-populated world for the sake of conquest. But it took many years for other humans to realize this, and begin to trust the Giannists with the responsible use of their power. The Giannists themselves, however, were known to be quick to anger, and generally did not give enemies the chance to reconcile their differences before resorting to war. But this may have more to do with the extreme circumstances the nation found itself in (literally being threatened with extinction) more than perceived jingoism. In truth, the Giannists regarded war as a survival skill. Killing people is simply an unfortunate side effect of the ultimate form of human competition and innovation. Where possible, killing should be avoided. As such, the Giannists perfected tactics and weapons and saw warfare as glorious - but they were always reluctant killers, as any army. Language The primary language used by citizens of the Hierarchy was Estonian, which was a relatively uncommon language even among Humans. As the Hierarchy expanded in size and population, more and more of the populace learned Estonian, leading to its rise as one of the more dominant languages in the region. In similar fashion to the Eru-Judian Commonwealth, the Uhara living in the Hierarchy were unable to learn Estonian and therefore were communicated with in the language of the Maghua via the use of translators. Religion The Giannists were one of the few Earthborne cultures to develop a new religion, however at any given time it only had a handful of followers. The height of the religion was about 1000 or so followers, who paid regular tribute to Gianni Athanasios and served as shock troops in the army. But during the battle of Meio, these shock troopers were encircled by the Triterrans. Their only path of escape blocked off, they fought to the death and with extreme resolve. Nonetheless, only a small number of true believers survived the battle, relieved when regular guardsmen came to their aid. The religion was almost extinguished in that moment, and to preserve the memory, the unit was never reinforced. Art While Rho Aquileans were often stereotyped as barbaric or incapable of art, there were several occasions where they proved the opposite. The most widely known example of this was the murals room of the Giannion, where stood massive murals dedicated to the history of Rho Aquilae and subsequently the Hierarchy. The art style of Rho Aquileans was more often than not symbolic, with every painting or mural holding some sort of significance to either the artist or the Hierarchy as a whole. Darker colors were most commonly used. Architecture As with most things in the Hierarchy, the architecture of its buildings was primarily focused around their potential use in military scenarios, with many structures being defensible by design. A prime example of this was the Giannion, which was built with integrated bunkers and gatehouses. Even structures that may have been intended for civilian use, such as a wall built to alleviate the effect of the harsh sandstorms of Rho Aquilae, were designed to accommodate bunkers and weapon emplacements. Free Time The citizens of the Hierarchy preferred quiet contemplation and devotion to Gianni to public or open displays, there were exceptions, however. The most common one was the frequent use of holotheaters supplied by Lukkastor, some of which were later converted to military use. Sport was a relatively uncommon sight in the Hierarchy, with the exception of hand-to-hand combat and sharpshooting, which even children participated in at times. This was due to the extreme adoration for the different military branches of the Hierarchy by even the common citizens. A tradition that started during Second Abundance of Year 197 was that the divisions of the Eagle Guard were revered by the citizens as teams in a sports league. Spectators of wargames often divided themselves between the different divisions and sometimes wore clothes dyed the color of their chosen team or painted their faces. Military The Hierarchy's society took pride in its military first and foremost. Where others may field an army in order to protect the people or keep the peace in emergencies, in the Hierarchy the people existed to support the army. The local culture accepted going to war as the most glorious endeavor of any young person and the majority of its Nanofactories were devoted to the military-industrial complex. History The famed military of the Hierarchy was founded during the first days of Morning Star of Year 197 by Gianni Athanasios, the security officer of the colony of Rho Aquilae. During this time and the next few months to come, this well-trained, yet poorly-armed volunteer force was known as the National Guard. Gianni put forth several requisition orders for expanded facilities and equipment, while devising grueling training regimes. It wasn't until the Iota Ermina Campaign that the National Guard were first tested in combat. The operation was deemed a great success because of the low amount of casualties suffered by the Guard. After the influx of wealth allowing the increase and expansion of the National Guard, it was reformed into the Eagle Guard, with Dardan Baris as its new commander following the death of Gianni. The military of the Hierarchy next saw combat during the Battle of Meio and the subsequent Siege of Awugheswt. Eagle Guard Main article: Eagle Guard The primary planetary force of the Hierarchy was the Eagle Guard. These men and women formed the backbone and vanguard of its military branch. Holy Warriors of Gianni Main article: Holy Warriors of Gianni While the Eagle Guard formed the standard planetary force of the Hierarchy, they were supported by the Holy Warriors of Gianni, which was a special forces unit comprised of 1,000 of those most fanatical in their devotion to Gianni. They were often given peculiar equipment to match their role. Wings of Rho Aquilae Main article: Wings of Rho Aquilae The astrofleet of the Hierarchy was known as the Wings of Rho Aquilae. Its flagship was the WRA Absolution. Auxiliary Units Despite its domestic focus on its military forces, the Hierarchy was still supported by several auxiliary units, not all of them Human. Uhara After the Iota Ermina Campaign, several Uhara joined the Hierarchy in hopes of serving their new conquerors. They were soon formed into an auxiliary division of 12,000 soldiers. Their doctrine was mostly focused around fast strikes and hit and run tactics, as their physiology made them inefficient as frontline soldiers. Mercenaries The Hierarchy also hired several mercenary companies, this was most evident in the fact that its entire Espatier force was comprised of hired guns. Equipment (tbc) Category:Stellar Empires Category:Human empires Category:GH articles